Patient-interactive healthcare management

ABSTRACT

A patient-interactive health care management system provides means for healthcare services rendered by a physician to a patient to be confirmed by the patient immediately after the healthcare services are rendered. The patient is provided the ability to verify the accuracy of an invoice for the rendered services/goods and provide an assessment of the rendered services/goods. In an example embodiment, the patient provides this information via an information station located at the healthcare facility in which the healthcare services/goods are rendered. The information gathered from the patient is provided to the party responsible for paying for the rendered healthcare services/goods. In an example embodiment, the paying party compares the patient provided information with the invoice received from the healthcare provider to assess the accuracy of the invoice. A patient account is established containing, in part, the information gathered from the patient.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The instant application is a continuation in part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/848,051, entitled “PATIENT-INTERACTIVEHEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT,” file Aug. 30, 2007, which is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety. U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/848,051 claims benefit to U.S. provisional patent application No.60/824,012, entitled “HEALTH CARE SYSTEM,” filed Aug. 30, 2006, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/848,051 also claims benefit to U.S. provisionalpatent application No. 60/868,013, entitled “HEALTH PROVIDER MANAGEMENTSYSTEM,” filed Nov. 30, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/848,051 also claimsbenefit to U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/889,294, entitled“HEALTH CARE SYSTEM,” filed on Feb. 12, 2007, which is herbyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The technical field generally relates to health care, and morespecifically relates to healthcare management, healthcare cost analysis,financial services, and healthcare service analysis.

BACKGROUND

Healthcare costs are on the rise. This is due in part to payment forservices and/or goods that were not actually provided. It is notuncommon for payment of medical services to be paid, at least in part,by a third party other than the patient (e.g., health insurance company,government provider such as Medicare or Medicaid). Often, the thirdparty provides payment in accordance with an invoice listing theservices/goods provided. On occasions, the invoice may not be accurate.

A patient typically receives, after medical services have been provided,an invoice comprising an itemized list of the services/goods. Forexample, when a patient visits a physician for treatment, uponcompletion of the visit, the patient is provided an itemized invoicewhich should properly itemize services rendered. At times however, theitemized services do not accurately reflect the services rendered and/orgoods (e.g., medications) provided. For a variety of reasons,inaccuracies may go unnoticed and/or uncorrected. A patient may not payattention to the invoice, for example, because the patient is notresponsible for paying the entire bill. The patient may not understandthe codes and/or terminology used to describe the services. Or, thepatient may not look at the invoice until well after leaving thephysician's office. At his point, the patient may feel it is too late tocorrect any inaccuracies, or not remember what services/goods wereprovided. Thus, it is not uncommon for an inaccurate invoice, prebill,bill, charge ticket, or the like to be submitted for payment. The lackof success to date in verifying the accuracy of invoices (e.g., by thepaying party) or to correct found inaccuracies have had detrimentaleffects upon the cost of health care.

SUMMARY

Healthcare accountability and management are provided viapatient-interactive contemporaneous evaluation and verification ofprovided services. Upon completion of provided services, the recipientof the services (e.g., the patient) evaluates the services and canverify the accuracy of an invoice of the services. The results thereofcan be provided to a patient account and can be submitted to the payingparty along with an invoice of the services. In an example embodiment,during the evaluation process, queries and information provided to therecipient are structured to provide interventional and educationalchanges to patient behavior. Accordingly, the patient is aided inadapting to changing healthcare behavior and entering into a more robustrelationship with a healthcare provider.

In an example configuration, information stations (e.g., kiosks,processors having Internet access, mobile devices, facsimile devices,lap tops, desk tops, or the like), are located at or near the locationwhere services are received. Services can be received at the samelocation at which the services are being provided (rendered), and/orservices can be received remotely, by the patient, at a location that isremote from the location of the healthcare provider. For example,healthcare services can be received at an out patient department,physician's offices, clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted livingcenters, homehealth settings, hospice, dental office, optical offices,mental health institutions, rehab, occupational health settings, retailhealthcare settings, in the patient's home, any appropriate remotelocation, or the like. Upon completion of services being provided(rendered), the patient evaluates, via the information station, therecently provided services. The patient can also respond to questionspertaining to the provided services. This information is collected viathe information station contemporaneously with the services beprovided/rendered. This information can be used to trace and or updatethe service providers performance history and can be accessible by thirdparties. In an example embodiment, the patient is provided, via theinformation station, auxiliary information such as information aboutprescribed medications, self care, the quality and effectiveness ofservices, health insurance coverage and regulations, billing, or thelike, for example.

The collected information can be used to establish and/or update apatient account. The patient account can include information pertainingto the results of the patient's evaluation of the rendered healthcareservices. The patient account can include information pertaining topatient and/or provider compliance with regulations, instructions, orthe like. The patient account can be utilized to promote or encouragepatient and/or provider compliance. The patient account can beaccessible by the patient and authorized third parties. The patientaccount can be part of a national registry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages ofpatient-interactive healthcare management will be better understood fromthe following detailed description with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a depiction of an example scenario involving patientinteractive healthcare management.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example process for setting the locationof a healthcare facility.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example process for establishing a listof healthcare providers.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process for completing a survey.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a patient's perceptions of interactionswith a healthcare practitioner.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example process for providingpatient-interactive healthcare management.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an example process for verifying healthcareservices and/or goods.

FIG. 8 is a depiction of an example confirmation screen for verifyinghealthcare services/goods.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example system for implementingpatient-interactive healthcare management.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process foridentifying and disbursing funds to multiple entities.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of an example verification survey.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of an example survey comprising patienthealthcare guidance information.

FIG. 13 is an illustration of an example survey comprising a referenceto an activity list.

FIG. 14 depicts an example activity list.

FIG. 15 depicts another example activity list.

FIG. 16 is a depiction of an example provider rating report.

FIG. 17 is a depiction of an example consumer profile.

FIG. 18 is a diagram of an example patient-interactive healthcaremanagement system as applied to Medicare.

FIG. 19 is a diagram of an exemplary processor for implementingpatient-interactive healthcare management.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Healthcare is managed via patient interaction at the time the patient isvisiting a health care facility to receive healthcare services and/orgoods. As used herein, the phrase “healthcare services” refers tohealthcare services and/or healthcare goods. Patient-interactivehealthcare management as described herein has numerous application,including, for example, home health, skilled nursing, assisted living,hospice, teaching facilities, dental healthcare, holistic healthcare,mental healthcare, occupational healthcare, physical rehabilitation, andhealthcare related encounters between patient/consumer and apractitioner/provider.

In an example embodiment, this contemporaneous interaction includesassessing the quality of provided health care services and verifying theaccuracy of an invoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, or the like,listing the services provided. Additionally, information can be providedto the patient to educate the patient about healthcare and about actionsthe patient can take to improve her/his health. The results of thepatient's interaction are provided to a database for storage, to a thirdparty responsible for paying at least a portion of the renderedservices/goods, an agency for collecting health care information, thehealthcare facility that provided the services/goods, or a combinationthereof. The results of the patient's interaction also can be providedto a patient account that may be accessible to the patient and/or thirdparties. Providing results and comparisons of the patient's interactionin this manner (e.g., feedback) can result in improvements in patientand healthcare provider behavior.

Patient-interactive healthcare management as described herein can helpFederal and State governments, private practices, employers, and/orpatients improve the quality and cost of healthcare. In an exampleembodiment, patient-interactive healthcare management is a web based,multimedia resource, programmed to gather useful patient and providerdata using the patient's energy via surveying the patient upon thecompletion of the healthcare service being rendered. This could occur,for example, at the end of a doctor visit, at the end of a healthcareprovided via a video conference, at the end of healthcare provided overthe telephone, or the like. Various embodiments of patient-interactivehealthcare management also can be programmed to provide periodicconsumer reports to the patient. Example consumer reports include localreports, regional reports, national reports, physician office customersatisfaction reports, and statistics such as the number of proceduresperformed by a physician per period of time (year, month, etc.), or acombination thereof. In other example embodiments, patient-interactivehealthcare management provides patient education information, and isusable to propagate public awareness about ways to more wisely managehealthcare resources. In an example embodiment, patient-interactivehealthcare management is a consumer driven, point-of-service tool whichcan be placed in a healthcare facility, to empower government-pay andnon-government pay beneficiaries to exercise normal buying behaviors. Inan example embodiment, consumer reports and/or education information canbe accessible to the patient via a patient account. When a patient istreated by a practitioner (e.g., physician, nurse, physician'sassistant, psychologist, psychiatrist, physical therapist, dentist,counselor, or the like), patient-interactive healthcare managementallows the patient/consumer to express the level of satisfaction withand gauge the effectiveness of the quality of care received, and toverify that specific services were rendered without bias during thevisit.

FIG. 1 is a depiction of an example scenario involving patientinteractive healthcare management. At scene 12 of the example scenario,the patient is provided healthcare services (e.g., physical,electrocardiogram, stress test) and goods (e.g., sample medication, aprescription for medication, a prescription for follow up service suchas blood work) by the physician. After receiving the services/goods, thepatient goes to (step 18) the information station depicted at scene 14.At the information station, as described in more detail below, thepatient answers questions about the quality of the provided healthcareservices. Also at the information station, the patient verifies theaccuracy of an invoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, or the like, ofthe provided services/goods. Information gathered from the patient viathe information station is provided (step 20) to an entity 16 such as adatabase, a third party, a government agency, or the like. The resultscollected from the patient are indicative of a verified record ofservices provided to the patient and provide for the collection ofcontemporaneous feedback on the quality of the service received andpatient compliance with prescribed conduct. Thus allowing for feedbackregarding the level of congruence between doctor/nurse practitionerinstruction and/or practice of evidence based medicine and patient'sunderstanding and inclusion of the same. The information gathered fromthe patient also can be provided (step 22) to the facility/physicianthat provided the services/goods. Upon analysis of the receivedinformation, the entity 16 can provide (step 24) payment and/or feedbackto the facility that provided the services/goods.

Although scene 12 illustrates a patient and a healthcare provider beingcollocated, it is understood that the patient and the healthcareprovider do not necessarily have to be at the same location. The patientand the healthcare provider could communicate via a wired and/orwireless connection, and thus could be remotely located. For example, apatient could be located in his/her home, at a clinic, on a mobilecommunications device, or the like, and the healthcare provider could beat a different location. A patient could receive healthcare service viaa video conference, via a telephone, via a wireless communicationsdevice, or the like.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example process for setting the locationof a healthcare facility within the system for implementingpatient-interactive healthcare management. After receiving healthcareservices, the patient logs in at step 26. In an example embodiment, thepatient logs in at the information station. At step 28, it is determinedif the location at which the patient received the healthcare services isset in the system. If the location is set within the system (step 28),the location is confirmed at step 32. The location also can be updatedat step 32. If the location is not set (step 28) in the system, thelocation is selected or entered by the patient at step 30. At step 34,the location set into the system. At step 36, a welcome page, or thelike, is rendered. The welcome page can comprise any appropriate pagefrom which the patient can start completing the survey, selectingproviders, or the like.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example process for establishing a listof healthcare providers. The patient logs into the system at step 38. Inan example embodiment, the patient logs in at the information station.The patient requests a provider list at step 40. At step 42, the patientprovides the location of the healthcare facility at which the healthcareservices were rendered/provided. As understood, this location can differfrom the location at which the healthcare services were received. Step44, a list of active providers associated with the specified location isrendered via the system. At step 46, the active providers are registeredwith the system. The patient is returned to the main menu at step 48. Atthe main menu, the patient can start completing the survey.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process for completing a survey.The patient enters her/his name at step 50. At step 52, it is determinedif the patient's records are in the system. If the patient's records arein the system (step 52), the process proceeds to step 56. If the patientrecords are not in the system (step 52), the process proceeds to step54. At step 54, a record is created for the patient. At step 56, thepatient selects, from a provided list of physicians, the physician (orany appropriate practitioner) who rendered the services/goods. Asdescribed in more detail below, the patient completes the survey askedat 58.

In an example embodiment, the patient can complete a survey pertainingto health care issues associated with the specific visit (rendering ofthe healthcare). For example, if the healthcare visit pertains todiabetes, a survey pertaining to diabetes can be completed. Inaccordance with this embodiment, at step 60 the patient enters, orselects from a provided list, the reason for the visit. At step 62, thesurvey is provided by the system. At step 64, the patient completes thevisit specific survey.

Via the information station, in an example embodiment, the patientinteracts with a user prompted interface. As depicted in FIG. 5, theinformation station collects information from patients via a touchscreen. In an example embodiment, a survey is conducted, usingnon-specialized language, about the patient's experience during thevisit. The patient's perceptions pertaining to the quality of thecurrent physician visit is gathered. Patient's perceptions of thecommunication of health topics in the delivery of evidence based healthcare during the physician visit also are collected.

In an example embodiment, administered healthcare services are verifiedby the patient immediately after treatment. This can reduce incidencesof health care fraud because health insurance companies will bepresented with accurate information as to the medical services that wereactually rendered. Because the consumer/patient provides an evaluationof the office visit contemporaneously with the visit, using theconsumer's energy/knowledge is likely to be a reliable source topinpoint and reduce billing mistakes and attempts at fraud. Thepatient/consumer is also the best qualified to comment on the treatmentreceived during the office visit. Information gathered from the patient,via the information collection station, provides the ability to simplifyfraud prevention activities, gather physician office best practice data,and to gain patient education at the time of their visit.

For example, in accordance with the scenario depicted in FIG. 1, afterthe patient completes her physician's visit, a staff member says, “Can Iask you to come to the patient waiting room so that you can complete abrief survey?” Moments later, the patient is seated at a computerconsole with a touch screen, where she taps in answers to a set ofquestions pertaining to her satisfaction with her care during the visitand several other questions about her choices in diet, exercise, andpersonal care. The patient is then asked to confirm that the list ofprocedures identified in the invoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, orthe like, to her insurance company was actually completed during thevisit. The staff member then says to the patient, “Thanks for completingthe survey today. Your answers will be sent electronically to yourinsurance company, the quality control office for this medical group,and/or to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for compilationinto a national database. Confidentiality will be appropriatelymaintained. And here is a copy for you, with a few notes from the doctorabout some things you can do to manage your current health condition.”The copy also, or in the alternative, can be made available viaelectronic means (e.g., Internet).

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example process for providingpatient-interactive healthcare management. At step 66, a patient istaken into a healthcare facility. Patient intake can include, forexample, the patient signing in at the healthcare facility, the patientlogging in, or the like. At this point, the healthcare facility is awareof the patient's presence and can retrieve any files, records, or thelike related to the patient. Healthcare services are provided at step68. For example, the patient can see the physician and receivetreatment, such as a physical examination, or the like.

At step 70, the patient visits the information station. At theinformation station (e.g., kiosk, processor having Internet access,mobile device, facsimile device, lap top, desk top, or the like), thepatient assesses the quality of the provided services and verifies theaccuracy of an invoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, or the like, ofthe provided services/goods. In an example embodiment, the patientreceives, via the information station, an invoice, prebill, bill, chargeticket, or the like, comprising an itemized list of healthcare servicesprovided. The patient can receive the invoice, prebill, bill, chargeticket, or the like, by providing identifying information via theinformation station. Example identifying information can include thepatient's name and/or an account number associated with the patient.Identifying information can be entered via a keyboard, mouse, or thelike, via the information station, and/or identifying information can beprovided via a storage device such as a patient identification card,common access card, or the like.

In an example embodiment, the invoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, orthe like, is provided to the patient before the patient visits theinformation station. For example, the treating physician or a staffmember can provide the invoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, or thelike, to the patient while walking the patient to the informationstation. In another example embodiment, the an invoice, prebill, bill,charge ticket, or the like, can be provided via the information stationupon conclusion of the healthcare service being provided.

If the invoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, or the like, was preparedproperly, the invoice should accurately reflect the administeredhealthcare services/goods. The invoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, orthe like, can include identification of each service rendered, such as atextual description (e.g., physical examination) and/or codes such asCPT (Current Procedural Terminology) codes. For example, a standardphysical examination may have a code of #123. The invoice also canindicate the fee associated with each itemized service and/or good.

At the information station, if the patient was provided the invoice,prebill, bill, charge ticket, or the like, prior to visiting theinformation station, the patient provides the information station withthe patient's copy of the invoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, or thelike. For example, the patient can place the invoice on a scanning bedfor electronic scanning. The invoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, orthe like, can be scanned and the information station can determine theitemized services written on the invoice. The contents of the invoice,prebill, bill, charge ticket, or the like, can also be loaded into theinformation station via computer keying (either by the patient or thedoctor/staff, or it can be digitized (scanned) by the staff andretrieved at the information station.

In an example configuration, the information station comprises an outputdevice, such as a display, a speaker, or a combination thereof forrendering a list of services/goods matching the itemized services/goodsidentified on the invoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, or the like.The patient verifies the accuracy of the invoice, prebill, bill, chargeticket, or the like, by reviewed the rendered list and providing anindication as to the accuracy thereof. For example, the patient, via aninput device (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, buttons, touch screen,microphone) can confirm that the rendered list of services accuratelyreflects the actually administered services. This can be accomplished,for example, by the patient pressing “yes” button to confirm or a “no”button, otherwise. The information station having a visual output deviceand an audio output device allows patients having visual or hearingimpairments to utilize the information station. Thus, a patient with avisual disability can listen to the rendered list of services/goods andverify the accuracy thereof accordingly.

If the patient indicates (step 72) that the invoice, prebill, bill,charge ticket, or the like, is accurate, a list of verifiedservices/goods is submitted to the appropriate entity at step 74. Theinvoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, or the like, can also besubmitted along with the list. If the patient indicates (step 72) thatthe invoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, or the like, is inaccurate,the inaccuracy(s) can be corrected (or reconciled later) at step 76. Theprocess proceeds to step 72 therefrom. For example, if the patientconfirms (step 72) that the rendered list of services is accurate, theverified list of services/goods (and optional invoice, prebill, bill,charge ticket, or the like,) can be provided to the third party, at step74, for payment of the services. If the patient indicates that therendered list of services is inaccurate, the healthcare facility (e.g.,an employee of the office including the physician) can be alerted thatthere is a discrepancy with the invoice. The employee can review theinvoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, or the like, correct anydiscrepancy(s), and allow the patient to confirm the accuracy (at step72) of the corrected invoice, prebill, bill, charge ticket, or the like.

In an example embodiment, upon completion of authentication andverification of the providers charge for services, the patient canprovide a signature (e.g., electronically). Over time with repetitiveuse the patient will enhance her/his healthcare literacy and become morefamiliar with the medical terminology used to describe the care she/hereceives and the cost associated with the service. Beginning with thecollection of charge-to-patient services, by patient, by doctor, thesemetrics can populate a database for customers and consumers to access.Because the method of data gathering is simple, affordable and natural,using it makes the defensibility against billing mistakes, fraud, andabuse more easily achievable.

In an example embodiment, patient-interactive healthcare management canbe used to supplement existing standard billing practices. For example,currently, a doctor's office submits a copy of an invoice to a healthinsurance company for reimbursement. This can still be done and theinformation station can also be used to verify, to the health insurancecompany, that the invoice is accurate. The health insurance company cancompare the invoice received from the healthcare facility with the listthat is received, and if there is a match, the invoice can be processednormally.

Patient-interactive healthcare management as described herein provides apatient (e.g., a government-pay patient such as a Medicare patient or aMedicaid patient) the ability to exercise true normal buying behavior.Customer verification allows the patient to approve immediate payment infull to a physician for the services just received and verified.Typically, getting paid immediately is a benefit that providers willwelcome. Unlike most vendor transactions, healthcare providers do notget paid in full at the time their services are rendered. Paying them“immediately” is a motivating benefit. The patient-interactivehealthcare management system provides a mechanism for providing co-payversus charges and/or co-pay versus costs.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an example process for verifying healthcareservices. At step 78, the payer (e.g., a health insurance company, agovernment agency, a third party) receives the verified list ofhealthcare services (e.g., the verified list provided at step 74). Atstep 80, the payer stores the verified list in a database or the like.At step 82, the payer receives the invoice from the healthcare facility.The invoice can be provided to the payer concurrent with the verifiedlist and/or separately. The invoice can be physically mailed and/orelectronically transmitted to the payer for payment. The payer compares,at step 84, the received invoice with the verified list. If the verifiedlist matches (step 86) the invoice, the payer pays the appropriateportion of the invoice at step 88. If the verified list does not match(step 86) the invoice, the payer does not pay the invoice, and canoptionally investigate, at step 90, why the verified list does not matchthe invoice. Because the verified list was contemporaneously verified(e.g., step 70) by the patient during the visit to the healthcarefacility, the payer is provided a high confidence level that the invoiceis accurate if it matches the verified list.

FIG. 8 is a depiction of an example confirmation screen 92 for verifyinghealthcare services/goods. Prior to viewing the screen 92, the patientcan be verified. Verification can be accomplished via any appropriatemeans for example, via interface with the payor, via a common accesscard, via a patient identification card, and/or via any applicable IDauthentication system. The confirmation screen 92 can be visuallydisplayed, for example on a display device of the information station,the confirmation screen 92 can be provided as a hardcopy (printedversion of confirmation screen), the confirmation screen 52 can beprovided via audio, or a combination thereof. The confirmation screen 92comprises a portion 94 for providing a name of the patient, a portion 96for providing a list of healthcare services/goods, and a verificationportion 98 for allowing the patient to verify the list of healthcareservices/goods. Portion 94 can provide the patients name and any otherrelated information, such as the patient's health care provider, forexample. The portion 96 can provide a list of the services rendered, andany associated codes. The verification portion 98 provides the patientan opportunity to confirm that the list (portion 96) is accurate byallowing the patient to touch a “yes” button or a “no” button.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example system for implementingpatient-interactive healthcare management comprising the informationstation 100 and a healthcare entity 104 (e.g., a health insurancecompany, a government agency, a healthcare data collection entity). Inan example configuration, an information station 100 is located in ahealthcare facility, such as a physician's office, a clinic, a hospital,or the like. The information station communicates with the healthcareentity, or entities, 104 via a network 102. The network 62 can compriseany appropriate network such as a wired network, a wireless network, anoptical network, or a combination thereof. For example, the network 102can comprise an Internet, an intranet, a LAN (local area network), or acombination thereof. In an example embodiment, the healthcare relatedentity 104 is the entity to which the list of verified services is sent.

In an example configuration, information provided from and/or receivedby the information station 100 can comprise secure information. Forexample, information can be encrypted, obfuscated, or a combinationthereof. Any appropriate techniques can be used to secure information,such as symmetric key encryption, public key encryption, or acombination thereof.

In some cases, a patient may have multiple insurance companies. Forexample, the patient may be a member of the Veteran's Association whichmay contribute to a portion of a patient's medical bills. The patientmay also have a primary health insurance company as well. Theembodiments described herein in which payment can be made to arespective health insurance company can also be applied to multiplehealth insurance companies, credit card companies, reconciliationcompanies, or the like. In this way, all health insurance companies(either public or private) can be reimbursed electronically andautomatically. Thus, as depicted in FIG. 9, the healthcare relatedentity 104 can comprise a single entity or multiple entities.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process foridentifying and disbursing funds to multiple entities. At step 106,patient records are retrieved. Patient records can be located andretrieved via any appropriate means, such as electronically retrieving arecord about the patient from any relevant database or storage, forexample. Storage can comprise any appropriate storage, such as adatabase (e.g., physician's database, a remote database from thepatient's primary health insurance provider, or any database which mayhave access to the patient's health insurance provider(s)), a storagefacility, local memory of a processor, or a combination thereof. Storagecan include a non-electronic record of the patient's health insurancecompanies garnered from a physical patient questionnaire that thepatient may have completed. Retrieval of records also can includeretrieving rules associated with provider's responsibilities for payinginvoices.

At step 108, it is determined which healthcare entities (e.g., healthinsurance company) are associated with the patient. This can beaccomplished by retrieving information in the located/retrieved records(step 106) about the health insurance provider(s) that the patient isassociated with. The rules that apply to the health insuranceprovider(s) can also be stored therein so that the system knows how mucheach health insurance company should pay. Payment(s) is provided at step110. The payment amounts can be calculated based on the rules associatedwith each provider. Thus, if the patient has multiple health insuranceproviders, each provider can be automatically paid the appropriateamount. For example, a patient's primary health insurance provider maycover 80% of the invoice, and a secondary provider may cover 15% ofunreimbursed expenses. Thus, if this patient's medical bill is $100, $80would be covered by the primary health insurance provider and $15 wouldbe covered by the secondary provider. The remaining $5 may have to becovered by the patient himself.

In an example embodiment, results of the patient's evaluation of therendered services/goods are provided (fed back) to healthcare providers,healthcare benefactors, and/or healthcare recipients in order to impacthealthcare behavior. Additionally, reinforcement of suggested behavioris provided. Patient and healthcare provider data is gathered usingconsumer (rather than provider) energy, by surveying patients at the endof the physician office visit, or at the conclusion of the renderedhealthcare. The patient-interactive healthcare management as describedherein gathers information regarding patient perceptions of their visitand health goals, and provides immediate feedback and patient educationinformation to propagate public awareness about ways to more wiselymanage healthcare resources. Patient-interactive healthcare managementdelivers comparative peer group data designed to improve consumerdisease prevention education and patient self-management skills.Patient-interactive healthcare management also collates consumersatisfaction reports and physician procedure data that can be used bybenefactors. The real-time collection of patient-centric data extendsthe capability of benefactors to evaluate and react to providerperformance, thereby enhancing the infrastructure needed to administerbenefactor programs. Patient-interactive healthcare management providesto physicians and healthcare providers means to meet electroniccompliance requirements, the capability to acquire an immediate paymentfor services, and is a patient point-of-service tool to obtain andevaluate customer satisfaction opinions.

In an example embodiment of patient-interactive healthcare management,after healthcare services are rendered to the patient, the patient isprovided, via the information station, a survey about the patient'sexperience. For example, the patient can be asked questions relating tothe patient's evaluation of the visit with the physician, such aswaiting time, confidence in the physician, quality of the treatment, orthe like. In an example embodiment the survey is utilized to verifyservices provided for payment and quality of services for consumerinformation. If the patient verifies and is satisfied with the servicesprovided, the patient authorizes immediate payment, as depicted in FIG.11. The surveys and payment information can be collected on a databaseor any appropriate storage means. Responses to the survey can betabulated and provided to the physician's office (healthcare facility).

The survey offers government-pay patients (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid) theopportunity to express concerns and satisfactions with the care receivedfrom their attending healthcare professional (e.g., physician). Theinformation provided by the patient can be aggregated into a database,or the like, that can be used to report a customer satisfaction score byprovider, for customers and consumers accessible from a website,network, or the like. As the patient survey evolves it can yieldcomparative disease state management data intended to educateindividuals about ways to reduce individual risk factors and achieveself-efficacy. This information can be converted into disease statemanagement profiles that direct specific attention to various levels ofanalysis for the individual, the public, and the government-payer.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of another example survey form comprisinginformation pertaining to patient self care. As depicted in FIG. 12, thepatient is asked questions pertaining to the rendered healthcareservices and pertaining to the patient's intentions to comply withhealthcare instructions. The patient also is asked if she/he has anyquestions. If the patient has questions, the questions can be answeredat the time the patient is completing the survey. Additionally, asdepicted in FIG. 12, the patient is provided information pertaining tohealthcare issues relating to the rendered healthcare services/goods. Inthe example depicted in FIG. 12, the patient received healthcareservices/goods related to diabetes.

Additionally, the patient can be provided an activity list comprising alist of activities to be conducted after the patient leaves thephysician's office. FIG. 14 depicts an example activity list for apatient having diabetes. FIG. 15 depicts an example activity list forgeneral therapeutic healthcare activities. For example, the activitylist can be referenced in the survey form as depicted in FIG. 13.

In an example embodiment of patient-interactive healthcare management,patient and physician event data are gathered and utilized to developindividual and/or aggregate healthcare trends and/or statistics. Thetrend information can be utilized to gain insights about patientexperiences. This information is utilizable to differentiate patternsamong patients and physicians. The information offers perspectives onaspects of customer satisfaction, health-related self-care, and theindividual and collective financial transparency needed to amplify thecost associated with patient and physician events. This information isupdatable to allow observation of new insights into changing behaviors.

Patient-interactive healthcare management as described herein enhancesthe awareness of patients, and consumers, of healthcare issues. Byenabling the patient to communicate with the physician and the insurerabout the quality of the patient experience, the patient becomes moreaware of national data about satisfaction, and about information aboutthe qualifications of physicians. As an informed consumer, it isreasonable to expect patients to adapt socially responsible behaviors toreduce costs and improve quality by engaging in the choice of provider,and in the choice of interventions proposed by the provider. Viautilization of patient-interactive healthcare management, providers,payers, and consumers will be able to more wisely manage healthcareresources.

In an example embodiment, the patient can submit a personal emailaddress, via the information station, to which updates will be sentabout physician ratings, information about common disease states for thepatient's age and gender, regional alerts for communicable diseases, andon-call information about treatment options for specific diagnoses.

Patient participation in patient-interactive healthcare management cancreate a heuristic for patient satisfaction information; as each patiententers a survey, the total national database is automatically updated,so that at any time authorized researchers can get an up-to-date insightinto recent trends in patient perceptions, and benchmark best practices.The bond which this system creates among the patient, the physician andthe payer benefits all participants; the physician learns what her/hispatients feel about the office experience, the payer obtains data toidentify trends and to verify the validity of claims, and the patient ispermitted to expand her/his capacity as a responsible purchaser ofhealth services. Customers of patient-interactive healthcare managementcan include the federal, state, and local governments, which can licenseits use, and the health-care providers who participate in public-paysystems. A web site that can display data collected in patient surveyscan be a consumer-driven website which uses the consumer's energy tocreate useful patient and provider trending data. This encountertrending will help the consumer to analyze provider pricing and servicequality data and to adopt cost-effective health behaviors. This systemis independent from the provider or the provider's staff. This systemprovides a uniform data set and the ability to easily update, modify orchange the data set by the control group licensing its application.Having the means to incorporate and modify a uniform data set will allownational, state, and local managers the ability to cross walk specificcause and effect realities that are or are not working at theprovider/patient level.

In an example embodiment, therapeutic, educational intervention isconducted at an appropriate time contemporaneously with the healthcarevisit in order to promote positive change in patient and/or physicianbehavior. In an example embodiment, as the rendering of healthcareservices is upon completion, the physician segues into a brief,effective intervention with the patient. During the intervention, thepatient can be provided educational material, can be provided aquestionnaire, can engage in a conversation with the physician, or acombination thereof.

In an example therapeutic intervention, the physician can ask thepatient if the patient is satisfied with the treatment received. Thephysician can ask the patient if the patient will adhere to instructionsprovided. The physician can ask the patient if the patient has anyquestions. Additionally, the physician can reinforce preventativemedicine and/or chronic disease points of self-care with the patient byproviding, for example, the activity list depicted in FIG. 14 and FIG.15. Further, the physician can encourage the patient to participate inthe evaluation process. Upon completion of the intervention, the patientcan progress to the information station to evaluate the renderedservices.

FIG. 16 is a depiction of an example provider rating report. In anexample embodiment, providers are rated and the ratings are madeavailable. The provider rating report depicted in FIG. 16 can be madeavailable via the Internet, via email, via a paper report, or like.Consumers can utilize the provider rating reports to assesspractitioners before or after receiving services from the practitioner.A provider rating report can be generated from the evaluations and/orratings of multiple patients. Information included in a provider ratingreport can include, for example, an assessment of the friendliness ofthe practitioner, the practitioner's attentiveness to patients, anassessment of the education received from the practitioner, patients'overall satisfaction with a practitioner, and an indication of patients'perception of cost and quality of rendered healthcare services/goods.

FIG. 17 is a depiction of an example consumer profile. The consumerprofile is indicative of a patient specific healthcare report. In anexample embodiment, the patient-interactive healthcare management systemstores and maintains healthcare information pertaining to eachconsumer's experiences. A consumer can access a profile containing suchhealthcare information. The consumer profile depicted in FIG. 17 is anannual consumer profile. However the profile can be indicative of anyappropriate amount of time. The consumer profile can provide informationsuch as the consumer's name, age, sex, and physical characteristics. Theconsumer profile can provide statistics pertaining to specifichealthcare issues. For example, the consumer profile can provideinformation pertaining to chronic disease factors such as indication asto whether the consumer is within acceptable weight boundaries and/orwhether the patient's blood pressure is under control. The consumerprofile can provide information indicative of patience risk factorspertaining to various ailments such as diabetes, heart attack, stroke,kidney failure, and foot problems, for example. Additionally, theconsumer profile can provide information pertaining to cost for treatingspecific ailments.

In an example embodiment, the patient interactive healthcare managementsystem can be utilized as an information repository for trackingpurposes. For example, the patient-interactive healthcare managementsystem can be utilized to track durable medical equipment or the like.For example, a patient may receive a durable medical product such as awheelchair to during her visit to the healthcare practitioner. At theinformation station, or the like, a barcode affixed to the wheelchaircan be scanned into the patient interactive healthcare managementsystem. This system will associate the wheelchair with the patient canmaintain this information for tracking purposes. When the patient nolonger needs the wheelchair, the patient can return the wheelchair tothe practitioner, or to any appropriate location, and the location ofthe return wheelchair will be updated in the patient-interactivehealthcare management system. The patient interactive healthcaremanagement system also can be utilized to track prescriptions. Does, thepatient interactive healthcare management system can function as arepository for tracking and maintaining a patient's medication use.

FIG. 18 is an example illustration depicting patient-interactivehealthcare management as applied to Medicare. The database comprisespatient information collected via the information stations as describedabove. The database 71 can comprise for example, information pertainingto the quality of health care provided to patients, statisticspertaining to the accuracy of invoices, information pertaining to theoverall quality of healthcare services provided, or the like. Theinformation contained in the database 71 is available to Medicarebilling 75. Medicare billing 75 can include any appropriate billingagency are entity responsible for handling billing matters for Medicare.In an example embodiment, the information contained in database 71 isavailable to consumer groups 73. Example consumer groups includee-Veritas, e-Orare, and e-Pacare. Information stored in a database 71 isavailable, via Medicare billing 75, to the Medicare webpage 78.Information on the Medicare webpage 78 is available to a variety ofentities including, for example, the patient 80, a healthcare provider82, any information seeker 84 having access to the Medicare webpage 78,an auditor investigator 86, the Medicare administrator 88, and aprofessional association 90.

The information station can comprise a processor or combination ofprocessors. FIG. 19 is a diagram of an exemplary processor 91 forimplementing patient-interactive healthcare management. The processor 91comprises a processing portion 93, a memory portion 95, and aninput/output portion 97. The processing portion 93, memory portion 95,and input/output portion 97 are coupled together (coupling not shown inFIG. 19) to allow communications therebetween. The processor 91 cancomprise hardware. The processor 91 can comprise an combination ofhardware and software. Each portion (i.e., processing portion 93, memoryportion 95, input/output portion 97) of the process 91 can comprisehardware. Each portion (i.e., processing portion 93, memory portion 95,input/output portion 97) of the process 91 can comprise a combination ofhardware and software. The input/output portion 97 is capable ofproviding and/or receiving components utilized to performpatient-interactive healthcare management as described above. Forexample, the input/output portion 97 is capable of, as described above,providing/receiving patient information, healthcare providerinformation, invoice verification information, information pertaining tothe patient's assessment of the quality of healthcare services/goodsprovided, healthcare generic information, information pertaining topatient specific healthcare issues, encrypted information, or acombination thereof.

The processing portion 93 is capable of implementing patient-interactivehealthcare management as described above. For example, the processingportion 93 is capable of calculating statistics based on providedpatient healthcare information, determining trends based on providedpatient healthcare information, or a combination thereof.

The processor 91 can be implemented as a client processor and/or aserver processor. In a basic configuration, the processor 91 can includeat least one processing portion 93 and memory portion 95. The memoryportion 95 can store any information utilized in conjunction withpatient-interactive healthcare management. For example, the memoryportion 95 is capable of functioning as a repository for storinginformation for tracking durable medical equipment, prescribedmedications, or the like. The memory portion 95 is capable of storinginformation pertaining to a practitioner profile, a patient profile, ora combination thereof, for example. Depending upon the exactconfiguration and type of processor, the memory portion 95 can bevolatile (such as RAM) 99, non-volatile (such as ROM, flash memory,etc.) 101, or a combination thereof. The processor 91 can haveadditional features/functionality. For example, the processor 91 caninclude additional storage (removable storage 103 and/or non-removablestorage 105) including, but not limited to, magnetic or optical disks,tape, flash, smart cards or a combination thereof. Computer storagemedia, such as memory portion 95, 99, 101, 103, and 105, includevolatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implementedin any method or technology for storage of information such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM,EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,universal serial bus (USB) compatible memory, smart cards, or any othermedium which can be used to store the desired information and which canbe accessed by the processor 91. Any such computer storage media can bepart of the processor 91.

The processor 91 can also contain communications connection(s) 111 thatallow the processor 91 to communicate with other devices, such as otherdevices, for example. Communications connection(s) 111 is an example ofcommunication media. Communication media typically embody computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data ina modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term“modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of itscharacteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode informationin the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communicationmedia includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and otherwireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein includesboth storage media and communication media. The processor 91 also canhave input device(s) 109 such as keyboard, mouse, pen, voice inputdevice, touch input device, a touch screen, a smart card, a patientidentification card, or the like. Output device(s) 107 such as adisplay, speakers, printer, or the like also can be included.

As described herein, a personal e-health patient account/longitudinalrecord can be established for access by a patient and/or authorizedthird parties. The patient account, in a fashion, is a personalized datarepository for the patient. The patient account can be established inany appropriate manner via any appropriate mechanism. For example, thepatient account can be established prior to a patient receivinghealthcare services, the patient account can be established upon apatient receiving healthcare services, the patient account can beestablished while a patient is evaluating healthcare services, thepatient account can be established upon a patient evaluating healthcareservices, or any appropriate combination thereof. The patient accountcan be updated to include an indication of the results of the patient'sevaluation of a rendered healthcare service. The patient account can beestablished and/or updated via any appropriate device. For example, thepatient account can be established by the processor 91 described herein.

The patient account can be updated in any appropriate manner. Forexample the owner (e.g., a patient) of the patient account canselectively enter personal healthcare information into their patientaccount for future access by the owner and by designated third partieswith the owner's permission (authorized third parties). A third partymay, for example, access selected healthcare information in the patientaccount on the owner's behalf. Examples types of healthcare informationthat can be included in the patient account include: personaldemographic information, personal health insurance coverage information,blood type, blood donor volunteer information, organ transplantvolunteer information, DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) orders, DNI (Do NotIntubate) orders, next of kin and emergency contact information, careand care coordination network contact information (e.g., primary carephysician, primary pharmacy, primary laboratory), treatment/programadherence information, other useful healthcare information, personalcontact information, medication list (can include over the countermedications and/or prescription medications), health history, healthrelated complaints, financial information, administrative information,health history, clinical information, or the like, etc. The owner of thepatient account also can use social media capabilities of the patientaccount by posting personal status reports on his/her healthcare status,such as, for example:—I'm at Dr. Jones' office. Been waiting for over anhour to see him. —I'm having orthopedic surgery today. I'm a littlefrightened and hope you can visit after my procedure to check onme.—I've been in the emergency room at Community Hospital USA with ahigh fever and chest pain for over 6 hours and have not been treatedyet. Can someone help me?—Mom-Dad it's a boy!

In an example embodiment, data automatically can be transferred to thepatient account when the patient identifies himself/herself. This couldoccur when the patient is evaluating a recently rendered healthcareservice, or at a time thereafter when the patient is accessing thepatient account to update the patient account. Data can include anyappropriate type of data, such as, for example, information pertainingto verification of services, treatment assessments, treatmentinstructions, patient education, referrals, prescriptions, consults,invoices, action plans, personal goal materials, discharge instructions,or the like.

As a patient is entering data into the patient account, either as partof the evaluation process, or subsequent to the evaluation process,depending upon the data being entered, such as, for example, responsesto questions, additional health related questions can be automaticallyprovided to the patient. The additional questions can seek clarificationor request more in-depth information to help determine if the patient'ssafety or well being is in jeopardy. The additional question can beprovided at the time the patient is entering the data and/or at asubsequent time when the patient accesses the patient account. Thepatient can answer the additional questions at the time they arereceived and/or at a subsequent time. This information can automaticallybe transmitted to an appropriate third party who can take necessaryaction. In an example embodiment, the additional questions and/or theresponses to the additional questions, e.g., additional questionsseeking clarifying information and/or requesting more in-depthinformation, can be compiled and stored in the patient account forsubsequent access.

In an example embodiment, the patient can manage the patient account.For example, the patient can selectively transfer information from thepatient account to a designated recipient or recipients. The patientcould restrict information being transferred from the patient account.Example recipients include health care providers, insurers, pharmacists,labs, work wellness entities, etc. In an example embodiment, the patientcan authorize third parties (e.g., health care providers, insurers,pharmacists, labs, work wellness entities, etc.) to access the patientaccount. The third parties can access the account via any appropriatemechanism, such as, for example, the internet, an email address, aportal, or the like. Authorized third parties can transfer informationto the patient account as needed and the patient can be responsive tothis information by exchanging information with the third parties.Examples of the types of information that can be transferred into and/orout off the patient account include instructions, updates, education,assessments, results, programs, monitoring questions, etc.

In an example embodiment a practitioner, healthcare entity, or the like,can use the patient account for individualized patient care. Forexample, using the patient account as a personal e-health mailingaddress for the patient, the practitioner, healthcare entity, or thelike, can accomplish individualized clinician-patient interactions. Theinteractions can be electronically documented and verified. Verifiedinteraction can be made available to other entities as appropriate.

The patient account could be updated for any appropriate reason. For,example, the patient account could be updated responsive to the patientreceiving healthcare services, to uploads from an authorized/approvedparty (e.g., laboratory, imaging facility, clinical facility), or anyappropriate combination thereof. The patient account could be updatedresponsive to a third party transferring information to the patientaccount, such as, for example, laboratory results or any other noticesent to the patient's personal e-health account. The patient accountcould be updated responsive to a change in the patient's status and/orthe availability of new applications.

The patient account could be added to a registry, such as, for example,a national patient reported outcomes registry. For example the patientaccount could be part of a national registry of real-time patientreported outcomes. A registry comprising the patient account can providea unique data base of patient reported outcomes that can advanceclinical decision making and provide medical informatics for researchand analytics. A registry comprising the patient account can provide newunique and aggregate patient preferences, perceptions, values, andtreatment effectiveness direct from the source. A registry comprisingthe patient account can provide detail journal entries for marketinganalysis or the like. A registry comprising the patient account canprovide new, unique, and aggregate information that links medicaloutcomes to human behaviors. Accordingly, data (evidence) can beorganized around unique clinician and unique patient encounters (andmedical condition/status) and experiences to create longitudinalrecords, probability profiles, and provide treatment care and costconsiderations. A registry comprising the patient account can beutilized to generate analytics that apply to a broad range of problemsin healthcare and life sciences. A registry comprising the patientaccount can be utilized to provide new experiential risk and losscontrol data. Third parties can draw from a registry comprising thepatient account to reduce an indication of the severity of medicalconditions, determine localized new best practices and manage healthcareeffectively. A registry comprising the patient account can be utilizedto interface with other national registries through health informationexchanges, or the like.

Information (data) in the patient account can be organized in anyappropriate manner regardless as to whether the patient account is partof a registry or not part of a registry. For example, information in thepatient account could be organized to comport with, for example, thepatient's preferences, perceptions, values and/or experiences.Information can be organized to comport with age-related groups,problem-related groups, diagnosis-related groups (DRGs),complaint-related groups, medication-related groups, or the like, or anyappropriate combination thereof.

In an example embodiment, the patient account can be utilized to monitorand/or promote patient compliance. For example, the patient accountcould store a provider's treatment instructions and enable the patientto record/attest to his/her adherence to the treatment instructions.This recordation/attestation could be used by the provider duringsubsequent visits to evaluate the patient's adherence to the treatmentinstructions. This recordation/attestation could be used by the providerduring subsequent visits to determine if there are problems with thetreatment plan. Case Managers could utilize the patient account to, forexample, monitor a patient's adherence to a treatment plan and toconduct interventions, perform medication reconciliation, ensure patientsafety, or the like. Skilled professionals, such as patient educationspecialists or the like, can utilize the patient account to assist apatient in treatment plan areas to which the patient is havingdifficulty adhering.

In an example embodiment, the patient account can be utilized to monitorand/or promote provider (e.g., practitioner) compliance. For example,use of the patient account could provide means for documenting andtracking the effectiveness of a treatment plan including both thepatient's and the provider's behavior/adherence to protocols andguidelines. Data (information) in the patient account could providedocumentation and validation of the services rendered and could be usedto satisfy professional guidelines, regulations, and requirements of thelike. Data (information) in the patient account could be in the form ofclaims data and/or patient identified visit records. The patient accountalso could be utilized to provide data needed for pay for performancerewards programs.

The patient account can be utilized by third parties in any appropriatemanner. For example, the patient account can be used to expand servicesfor providing care, such as, for example, providing personalizedsupport, more effectively managing blood transfusion and organtransplant programs, or the like. The patient account can be used toprovide a third party access to the patient's personal healthinformation. The patient account can be used to interface withelectronic medial records. The patient account can be used to interfacewith a health savings account. The patient account can be used tointerface with health information exchanges. The patient account can beused to interface with pharmacy, home health, and/or primary care. Thepatient account can be used to participate in risk assessment. Thepatient account can be used to facilitate an employer sponsored wellnessprogram. The patient account can be used to allow a patient to comparethe cost of healthcare services. The patient account can be used to givepatients choice and access to various healthcare services. The patientaccount can be used to identify gaps between the provider and patient.The patient account can be used to exchange individualized informationwith the owner/patient. For example, a laboratory facility can send labresults, a pharmacy can send medication instructions, a provider cansend treatment plan instructions (visit based and discharge planning)and be able to engage in patient recuperation/recovery/progressmonitoring, an employer can send reminders about work limitationinstructions, a clinical trial can send clinical trial invitations, aninsurance company can send rebate instructions, any and all personalhealth information can be sent to the patient account for storagesafekeeping and continuity. The patient account can be used to managehealthcare costs effectively, such as, for example, via predictivemodeling. The patient account can be used to facilitate theadministration of incentives and rewards to the patient. The patientaccount can be used by enterprise portals. The patient account can beused as means for verifying and validating that professional standardsare being met. The patient account can be used as means for auditing,verifying, and validating that reimbursed services (e.g., kidneydialysis services, skilled nursing, nursing home, long-term health care,rehabilitation, chiropractic, etc.) were legitimate, relevant, and/orappropriate. The patient account can be used to facilitate medicalmalpractice testimony. The patient account can be used to produceanalytics that will motivate behavior change. The patient account can beused to identify variations from evidence based care. The patientaccount can be used to generate hypotheses and score and assessevidence. The patient account can be used to identify patientlimitations. The patient account can be used to identify patient specialneeds. The patient account can be used for disaster readiness planningand coordination. The patient account can be used for first responderline of duty injury tracking. The patient account can be used forinjured on the job tracking. The patient account can be used tofacilitate Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)reporting. The patient account can be used to gain an understanding of apatient's psychosocial issues.

The patient account can be stored in any appropriate manner and on anyappropriate device or devices. For example, the patient account can bestored in an authorized third party (other than the patient) processor,server, computer, database, or the like. In an example embodiment, thepatient account can be stored in a secure environment (e.g., encrypted,obfuscated, dispersed, password protected, etc.). In another exampleembodiment, the patient account can be stored, in part, on a patientdevice, such as the patient's lap top computer, desk top computer,server, hand held device, or the like. In yet another exampleembodiment, the patient account can be a universal record of informationthat is accessible and updatable by third parties and the patient thatallows for exchange of information therebetween. The patient account canbe accessible via a single account address (e.g., email address, webaddress, etc.).

In an example configuration, the patient account can be a single accountcomprising various applications, such as, for example, medicationreminders, e-visits with a healthcare provider, home monitoringservices, emergency response services, wellness coaching services,automatic industry updates on medical conditions, automatic industryupdates on therapeutics, modalities, information sharing with otherpatients and providers, medical financial services, health copaymentrewards, and reimbursement programs, or the like. Based upon thepatient's consent, specific requestors could be registered by thepatient to allow access to the patient account. The registration couldallow full access or limited access. The registration could allow fulldata privileges (e.g., read, write, print, email, copy, download,upload, webcast, etc.). The registration could allow limited dataprivileges. Privileges could be limited by type of privilege, date,time, location, individual, password/pass code, etc.

The patient account can be maintained by any appropriate entity. Forexample, the patient account could be maintained by the patient, by anauthorized third party, or the like, or any combination thereof.

While example embodiments of patient-interactive healthcare managementhave been described in connection with various computing devices, theunderlying concepts can be applied to any computing device or systemcapable of implementing patient-interactive healthcare management. Thevarious techniques described herein can be implemented in connectionwith hardware or, where appropriate, with a combination of hardware andsoftware. Thus, the methods and apparatus for patient-interactivehealthcare management, or certain aspects or portions thereof, can takethe form of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangiblemedia, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, or any othermachine-readable storage medium, wherein, when the program code isloaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machinebecomes an apparatus for implementing patient-interactive healthcaremanagement. In the case of program code execution on programmablecomputers, the computing device will generally include a processor, astorage medium readable by the processor (including volatile andnon-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device,and at least one output device. The program(s) can be implemented inassembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language canbe a compiled or interpreted language, and combined with hardwareimplementations.

The methods and apparatus for patient-interactive healthcare managementalso can be practiced via communications embodied in the form of programcode that is transmitted over some transmission medium, such as overelectrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via any otherform of transmission, wherein, when the program code is received andloaded into and executed by a machine, such as an EPROM, a gate array, aprogrammable logic device (PLD), a client computer, or the like, themachine becomes an apparatus for patient-interactive healthcaremanagement. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the programcode combines with the processor to provide a unique apparatus thatoperates to invoke the functionality of patient-interactive healthcaremanagement. Additionally, any storage techniques used in connection withpatient-interactive healthcare management can invariably be acombination of hardware and software.

While patient-interactive healthcare management has been described inconnection with the various embodiments of the various figures, it is tobe understood that other similar embodiments can be used ormodifications and additions can be made to the described embodiment forperforming the same function of patient-interactive healthcaremanagement without deviating therefrom. For example, one skilled in theart will recognize that a system for patient-interactive healthcaremanagement as described may apply to any environment, whether wired orwireless, and may be applied to any number of devices connected via anetwork and interacting across the network. Therefore,patient-interactive healthcare management should not be limited to anysingle embodiment, but rather should be construed in breadth and scopein accordance with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving an indication of aselected treatment, the selected treatment being indicative of atreatment received by a patient during receipt of healthcare, theselection be received via a processor, the selection being accomplishedby the patient; providing treatment specific questions based on theselected treatment; evaluating, by the patient, the selected treatmentby answering the treatment specific questions, via the processor,directed to treatment specific procedures performed during the receivedhealthcare, the evaluating being conducted at a point of service, atwhich the patient was located during the receipt of the healthcare; andproviding, via the processor, an indication of a result of theevaluating; and generating a patient account comprising an indication ofa result of the evaluating.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein aggregatedinformation is obtainable from the patient account.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the aggregated information is formatted for a requesterof the aggregated information.
 4. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: receiving an indication of a selected subsequent treatment,the selected subsequent treatment being indicative of a subsequenttreatment received by a patient during receipt of subsequent healthcare,the selection be received via the processor, the selection beingaccomplished by the patient; providing subsequent treatment specificquestions based on the selected subsequent treatment; evaluating, by thepatient, the selected subsequent treatment by answering the subsequenttreatment specific questions, via the processor, directed to subsequenttreatment specific procedures performed during the received subsequenthealthcare, the evaluating being conducted at a point of service, atwhich the patient was located during the receipt of the subsequenthealthcare; and updating, via the processor, a patient account with anindication of a result of the evaluation of the selected subsequenttreatment.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the patient account isaccessible by a third party.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thepatient account is accessible by a provider of the healthcare.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the patient account is a part of a registry.8. The method of claim 1, wherein access to patient account isauthorized by the patient.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein informationis obtainable, via the patient account, about patient compliance withtreatment instructions.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein informationis obtainable, via the patient account, about healthcare providercompliance.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein laboratory resultspertaining to the patient are obtainable via the patient account. 12.The method of claim 1, wherein information to facilitate a comparison ofa cost of healthcare service is obtainable via the patient account. 13.A processor configured to: receive an indication of a selectedtreatment, the selected treatment being indicative of a treatmentreceived by a patient during receipt of healthcare, the selection bereceived via a processor, the selection being accomplished by thepatient; provide treatment specific questions based on the selectedtreatment; evaluate, by the patient, the selected treatment by answeringthe treatment specific questions, via the processor, directed totreatment specific procedures performed during the received healthcare,the evaluating being conducted at a point of service, at which thepatient was located during the receipt of the healthcare; and provide,via the processor, an indication of a result of the evaluating; andgenerate a patient account comprising an indication of a result of theevaluating.
 14. The processor of claim 13, wherein aggregatedinformation is obtainable from the patient account.
 15. The processor ofclaim 14, wherein the aggregated information is formatted for arequester of the aggregated information.
 16. The processor of claim 13further configured to: receive an indication of a selected subsequenttreatment, the selected subsequent treatment being indicative of asubsequent treatment received by a patient during receipt of subsequenthealthcare, the selection be received via the processor, the selectionbeing accomplished by the patient; provide subsequent treatment specificquestions based on the selected subsequent treatment; evaluate, by thepatient, the selected subsequent treatment by answering the subsequenttreatment specific questions, via the processor, directed to subsequenttreatment specific procedures performed during the received subsequenthealthcare, the evaluating being conducted at a point of service, atwhich the patient was located during the receipt of the subsequenthealthcare; and update, via the processor, the patient account with anindication of a result of the evaluation of the selected subsequenttreatment.
 17. The processor of claim 13, wherein the patient account isaccessible by a third party.
 18. The processor of claim 13, wherein thepatient account is accessible by a provider of the healthcare.
 19. Theprocessor of claim 13, wherein the patient account is a part of aregistry.
 20. The processor of claim 13, wherein access to patientaccount is authorized by the patient.
 21. The processor of claim 13,wherein information is obtainable, via the patient account, aboutpatient compliance with treatment instructions.
 22. The processor ofclaim 13, wherein information is obtainable, via the patient account,about healthcare provider compliance.
 23. The processor of claim 13,wherein laboratory results pertaining to the patient are obtainable viathe patient account.
 24. The processor of claim 13, wherein informationto facilitate a comparison of a cost of healthcare service is obtainablevia the patient account.
 25. A method comprising: responsive toreceiving healthcare: selecting, by a patient that received thehealthcare, via a processor, a treatment provided during the healthcare;providing treatment specific questions based on the selected treatment;evaluating, by the patient, the selected treatment by answering thetreatment specific questions, via the processor, directed to treatmentspecific procedures performed during the received healthcare, wherein:the patient is located at a first location and the healthcare isprovided from a second location; and the evaluating is conducted at thefirst location; and providing, via the processor, an indication of aresult of the evaluating.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the firstlocation and the second location are different locations.
 27. The methodof claim 26, wherein the patient received the healthcare via a remoteconnection.
 28. The method of claim 26, wherein the patient received thehealthcare via a network connection.
 29. The method of claim 26, whereinthe patient received the healthcare via an internet connection.
 30. Themethod of claim 26, wherein the patient received the healthcare via atelecommunication network.
 31. The method of claim 25, wherein the firstlocation and the second location are the same location.